WORLD JOURNAL OF ADVANCE
HEALTHCARE RESEARCH

*Rawia Faleh Albayati, Khalid Kareem Rajab and Besmah M. Ali

ABSTRACT

Introduction: Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women worldwide, with an estimated 2.2 million new cases diagnosed in 2022. Early detection and treatment of breast cancer can improve survival rates, making screening programs an important public health intervention. However, screening programs are not perfect and can lead to false-positive results, which can cause anxiety and lead to unnecessary treatments. Objectives: This cross-sectional study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of breast cancer screening programs in asymptomatic women in Baghdad, Iraq. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of breast cancer screening programs Alkarkh Teaching Hospital in Baghdad. The study population included 1,524 women who attended breast clinic from June 1, 2022 to June 1, 2023. The screening program included a clinical examination, ultrasound, mammography, and fine needle aspiration (FNA) or core biopsy. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS software. Results: The total number of participants in the breast clinic was 1524 during 1/6/2022 -1/6/2023, 607 (39.83%) of them were screened to detect cancer without symptoms. 277 (45.63%) patients with U/S BIRAD [1, 2, 3] and 32 (5.27%) with BIRAD [4, 5]. Total number of mammography was 27 patients, 25 (4.12) of them had BIRADs [1, 2, 3] and 2 (0.33%) had BIRADs [4, 5] and 271 (44.64%) screened patients with BIRADs [4, 5]. All patients who clinically suspicious or by U/S and mammography with BIRADs [4,5] send for cytology (FNA and histopathology study core). Also, total number of symptomatic patients was 917 (60.17%), so number of patients with results of U/S, Mammography BIRAD [4, 5], was 8 (0.87%). Conclusions: The findings from the data suggest that breast cancer screening and detection have varying levels of success in the specific population studied. High-risk BIRADS 4 and 5 categories were indicative of breast cancer in a significant portion of the screened population. This highlights the critical role that screening plays in early cancer detection, especially among symptomatic patients.

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